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Weeknight-style Hawaiian inspired Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa. Shredded crispy chicken in a tangy Hawaiian-inspired Hula Sauce with pickled ginger, pineapple, and sriracha. Cooked quickly in the instant pot, or use the oven or crockpot – use the method that works best for you. Serve each crispy chicken taco with homemade creamy basil ranch dressing and fresh jalapeño pineapple salsa. These fun summery tacos are the perfect weeknight dinner. Use the leftover chicken for sandwiches and salads.
I’ve been making these tacos, or a variation, since the early days of creating recipes. Over the years I’ve shared them in the form shrimp and salmon tacos, but now for the original shredded chicken variation. My brothers are obsessed with these. Especially my older brother, Trevor, who is constantly telling me to make more Hawaiian-inspired recipes.
We love anything with a spicy, sweet, tangy kick. And any dinner that’s ready in less than an hour is an immediate yes during the summer.
Here are details
You can make these tacos in 1 of 3 ways. The instant pot, the oven, or the crockpot. I always use the instant pot or the oven. I never plan ahead enough for the crockpot.
Basically, we’re seasoning the chicken, cooking it, shredding it, then throwing the saucy chicken under the broiler to get crispy. For the chicken, I love to toss it together with garlic, shallots, and pickled sushi-style ginger. In my opinion, using sushi-style ginger is the secret here. It caramelizes so wonderfully and adds such a yummy, spicy bite.
Then, I do tamari, sriracha, and fresh pineapple chunks. Let the chicken cook in the sauce, then shred. Cooking the chicken in the sauce ensures that it doesn’t dry out.
Once the chicken is shredded, I add 1 or 2 whole jalapeños. Broil together until the jalapeños roast and the chicken becomes caramelized, watch carefully.
While the chicken is cooking, I make my current go-to sauce, jalapeño basil ranch. It’s a mix of yogurt, mayo, lemon, Worcestershire, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, chives, and lots of pepper. Now this is when I toss in the roasted jalapeños from above. I leave everything in, seeds and all, but you do what works for you!
Then toss the remaining pineapple with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. Put everything together in the tacos.
I assemble as follows: charred flour tortillas, smashed avocado, lettuce, ranch, and a few spoonfuls of chicken. Finish with the pineapple chunks and ranch!
Hawaiian inspired Chicken Tacos – simple to make, but so yummy and fun for spring and summer nights. My family loves these, spicy, tangy tacos. The ranch is a must, so don’t skip it!
Looking for more simple weeknight recipes? Here are a few favorites:
One Pan Lemon Pepper Yogurt Chicken and Rice
Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Lastly, if you make these Hawaiian inspired Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Hawaiian Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 362 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1/3 cup pickled ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 1-3 tablespoons sriracha
- 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeños
- warm tortillas, shredded lettuce, and avocado for serving
Jalapeño Basil Ranch
- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. In the instant pot combine the chicken, garlic, shallots, ginger, chili powder tamari, sriracha, and 2 cups pineapple. Cook 10 minutes on high pressure. 2. Preheat the broiler to high. When finished cooking, shred the meat and toss with the sauce. Spoon the chicken and sauce onto a greased baking sheet. Add the jalapeños. Broil 10-15 minutes, until charring, watch closely. 3. Meanwhile, toss 1 cup of pineapple with the cilantro.4. To make the Jalapeño Ranch. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add 1 roasted jalapeño, seeded if desired. Blend until creamy. Season with salt.5. Stuff the chicken and pineapple chunks into charred tortillas. Serve with ranch.
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a baking dish, mix the chicken, garlic, shallots, ginger, chili powder, tamari, sriracha, and 2 cups pineapple. Roast 30 minutes, until tender and falling apart. Finish as directed above through step 2.
Crockpot
- 1. In the crockpot, combine the chicken, garlic, shallots, ginger, chili powder tamari, sriracha, and 2 cups pineapple. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or on HIGH for 2 hours. Finish as directed above through step 2.
Whole family loved! Thank you for another winner 🙂
Thanks so much Lindsey!! I am so glad to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe and I appreciate you making it! xT
So yummy! I wasn’t expecting this to be as flavourful as it was. I just used some grated ginger instead of the pickled, skipped the broiling and bbqd the jalapeño. Our kids even loved it!
Don’t know how you can develop so many yummy recipes. My husband doesn’t even ask me whose recipe it is anymore…the answer is always half baked!
Hey Lauren,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! Have a great week:) Thanks for your kind message! xT
Any substitute for pickled ginger? Would regular ginger work alright ?
Thank you
Hi Cassie,
You could try fresh ginger, I would just use a lot less:) Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! xT
Aloha from Maui. Just back from the s tore and they are out of jaleapinos and the pineapple is too hard. Can I substitute an Anaheim chili and canned (yuk) pineapple? I am considering substituting papaya for the pineapple. Also, your recipe calls for two jaleapinos…and only one goes in the Ranch. What is the other one for? Thank you I am so disappointed I couldn’t get all the ingredients because it seems like a super recipe to go with the Margaritas we are having tonight. I am getting your books.
Hi Christine,
Sure, those would work well for you! It’s just 1-2 jalapeños, depending on the level of spice that you enjoy:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out! xT
I’m making these now for a special Memorial weekend treat! Smells so good! I can’t wIt to try.
Thanks so much for trying the recipe Sandy!! I hope they are delish! xT
Just made this tonight and it was amazing as usual! Thanks
Hi Shawna,
Happy Memorial Day weekend!🇺🇸 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xx
I found you a few weeks ago and this is the second recipe I made and it was great. I did toss all the pineapple with the chicken by mistake so we missed something fresh when serving. I’m in Sweden and trying to convert all the measurements but must have made something wrong because it was crazy spicy. We love spicy food but this was a bit to much for us 😅 Do you have a cookbook? Really love all your recipes and looking forward cooking through them all!
These were unreal! I’m allergic to pineapple but still ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
Hi Mickey,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad it was a hit! Happy Memorial Day weekend!🇺🇸
Loved! Loved these today and they were a hit.
Thanks so much, love to hear this:)
Hi there,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad it was a hit! Yes, I have 3 cookbooks:)
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/cookbook/
Happy Memorial Day weekend!🇺🇸
Responding to Elisabet, I’m wondering if instead of chili powder (which is a mild blend of multiple spices, used to make the dish called “chili” as well as to flavor other dishes, especially Southwestern type ones), you used a chile powder such as pure cayenne pepper (sometimes referred to as “red pepper,” “red chili,” or “red chile” in recipes) instead of a mild spice blend. If you substitute cayenne for chili powder in this it will indeed be very spicy. For example, one of the chili powders I use is a blend of Ancho chile (which is much milder than cayenne/”red pepper”), cumin, garlic, and oregano.
Cilantro is a huge NO for me. What would you recommend as a flavour substitute?
Hi Margot,
Parsley would also work well for you! Please let me know if I can help in any other way, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Saw this on your story today and had to make it. This was absolutely delicious! A winner for me and my bf. Broiling the chicken was essential and made it so tasty. We’ll definitely be making this again!!
Love to hear this Samantha!! I appreciate you following along and giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Ran to the store to get everything as soon as I saw the post! They were a hit with 2 families b/c we had to share. Thank-you!
Thanks so much Rhyannon!! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and I appreciate you making it! xT
Made these tonight with rice and beans on the side. They were a big hit. I added a little bbq sauce on top before I broiled. Def will be making these again😋
Hi Debbie,
Happy Friday!!😎 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your review! xT
Made these for the family tonight, they were delicious. The jalapeño basil ranch was the star!
Thanks so much Jaime! Love to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe and thanks a bunch for trying it out! xT
Omg this looks amazing! Thanks again for sharing Tieghan!!!❤
Thanks so much Danielle:)
Another great recipe! I didn’t change a thing. It was so easy in the crockpot and so delicious! Sharing this with my sisters and my children. Thanks!
Thanks so much Penny!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and I appreciate you making it:) xT
Going to try this tonight. Can you suggest some sides that would pair well?
Hi Laura,
I would typically do rice and beans with tacos:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi
Love the look of this recipe, however I don’t have an instant pot. How else could I cook the chicken as really want to try it.
Thanks
Directions for oven and crockpot method to cook the chicken is included in the recipe 🙂
Hi Andrea,
I also included the oven and crockpot instructions which are both listed above:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Great thanks, didn’t scroll down enough, still salivating at the recipe. Can’t wait to try it! (And thank you for your prompt reply)
So I made it tonight, unfortunately I had to adapt the recipe slightly as I didn’t have pickled ginger or fresh pineapple, nevertheless it was still delicious and hubby really liked it. One thing though there wasn’t much sauce. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks
I always love extra sauce. I would personally try adding maybe 1/2 cup of chicken broth or pineapple juice would be yummy and a little extra soy sauce.
Hey Andrea,
Happy Thursday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it:) Which cooking method did you use? xx